Donating and Volunteering after Harvey

A reminder to how best to support Texas after Hurricane Harvey:

DONATE and VOLUNTEER responsibly:

Individual, unsolicited donations are inefficient and provide logistics challenges to supply chains already disrupted. They require time to sort and repack, consume logistics capacity, and the inbound supply signal is not visible to the organizations responding, so they are often unprepared to accept / distribute them. Our advice for those wishing to assist is to make a financial contribution to a reputable / vetted non-profit organization such as those who are members of the National or State Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster. https://www.nvoad.org/voad-members/national-members

Remember:

Cash is best: By far, monetary donations are the most useful help you can give. They allow affected communities to purchase exactly what they need, when they need it most; they permit local sourcing of supplies, which stimulates the economy and keeps tax revenues at home; and they help survivors to take control of their own recovery.

Work through ALAN: We partner with voluntary organizations, communities, and emergency response agencies on the ground to provide an organized response. We will be happy to share your offers of support with our partners to see if they match local needs.

Connect before you collect: Make sure that there is a need—as well as capacity and a specific recipient—for your donation on the other end. Your good intentions can overburden local supply chains if affected communities are not prepared for the arrival of your goods or services.

Don’t self-deploy: Many families have been displaced by these storms and housing and other services will be directed to support their needs first.

You can donate to support our operations – each $1 donation enables delivery of $2.82 of logistics services, and $72 of humanitarian aid.

ALAN is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization supported by generous corporate and private donors. Learn how you can make a tax-deductible donation today.